If I could give this higher than 5 stars I would. This is the most authentic little Italian place. From the wine list to the ambience they are consistent and amazing. We started with olives, smoked trout, salt cod and mushrooms and cauliflower (tapas style) then we had focaccia and a black radish and tuna salad and a fennel salad For entrees we had a shrimp fettuccine and a stuffed trout. Everything was fresh and delicious. They have Italian beers and wines and non alcoholic drinks. The wait was about 30-40 min for 2 people on a Friday night. Such an amazing place. Can't wait to come back read more

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The Food was so yummy! We got the whole serving for a few things and shared between 2 people which is probably the best if you want to try a little bit or everything. Service was okay. Food was served at a decent amount of time and staff was nice. read more

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This place is a absolutely perfect. We came at a great time (9pm, they're open every day from 4-10pm) because I'm told there's usually a good wait. As a New Yorker who loves mom & pop establishments this restaurant took me back to where I grew up. It's cozy, intimate, and you can tell the staff enjoy working there. We were kindly and immediately greeted by their host Zach as though they weren't closing in 40 minutes! When we saw the menu full of noodles we'd never heard of we went to search our phones when our server Navar (spelled phonetically) asked if he could be our noodle expert. Navar even went as far as showing us a raw Radiatore! The pictures don't do the food any justice. Everything tasted as though it was made from scratch and with skill and love - not words I use lightly. The food was reasonably priced, and the wine options were spectacular. So glad we took a chance and stopped in. I will absolutely come back and bring friends! read more

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I don't remember how I found this place. It's now one of my favorite restaurants now. We got there around 6pm weekday. We're lucky and got seated immediately at the la St available table. People who came after us had to wait for a long time. I love the ambiance there. People were chatting and laughing in a cozy place. It makes me feel like we are all having a party together. Wait staffs are friendly and answered all our questions patiently. They have a one page menu but 5 pages of wine list. I like everything in a smaller portion so we can have more dishes to share. We're enjoying ourselves so much we forgot to take pictures of our dishes until dessert time. The fresh pastas are sooooooo delicious. Our favorite is the clam spaghetti. The fettuccine with lemon is refreshing and not too sour. read more

Luce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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LUCE is the kind of place that deserves more than 5 stars. Everything about this place is top notch. We try something new each time and we are always blown away. Fresh delicious pastas and a great assortment of tapas styled apps. Their wine selections is extensive and they have Italian beverages. Service is excellent. The restaurant itself is very small and cozy. And since they don't take reservations, the wait time to get a table can be 45 mins to an hour, but it's a great neighborhood with several walkable bars to hang out & wait at. The octopus and potato salad was so good! read more

Luce - Octopus & Potato with Olives Focaccia - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Was extremely looking forward to this, visiting town after living here for years. New staff seem racist. And food was salty :( I was the first guest of the night, got looked up and down before being acknowledged/seated. Was then seated in the corner of the restaurant. Two white girls came in and were seated at the window. Solo white person got seated in the front. As more customers entered, staff only acknowledged the non-poc person of the groups. Waiter talked to front of staff while I waited for my order to be taken, wouldn't look me in the eyes. Barely checked in after I ordered. I'm so sad! One of my favorite places in Portland, why were they so condescending?!? Cake was good, their desserts are so good. :( read more

A friend recommended this place w the freshly made pasta. The appetizers were alright, nothing too special. I personally liked the cauliflower w a tad of vinegarette olive oil. The polpette was just some normal meatballs. All the pasta tasted freshly made but the portions were a tad smaller than I imagined. Both ragu tasted amazing. We couldn't decide on one in particular so we ordered both the rabbit and beef/pork ragu. Flavoring was just about right not too salty. The special w veggies tasted good too but I didn't remember what it was... Quaint little place in a quiet neighborhood. It reminded me of college town back in Ithaca :) read more

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The food was amazing! My first time there and I will definitely return. The service was great!

Luce is one of those dinning experiences you judge other restaurant's against. Always fresh simple and delicious. And the ambiance is very neighborhood friendly! A joy to eat there! read more

I feel guilty posting this, but honestly this was one of the worst pasta places I've ever tried. The pasta was more like soup and zingy instead of rich. I never had any Italian food like that.. & our waiter was ignoring us until I had to be honest that the dish was gross. We each had a bite of our own plates and they still charged us for an entire dish after removing it from our table. It was awkward to not want to pay but also to be charged for an entire dish that disgusted me was a bit foul. I've never had a dining experience where I didn't even want to order something else off their menu. Ruined my night read more

Dropped in for an early dinner on Saturday and was pleased to see they offer half servings of many dishes, making it possible for me to try different things on the menu without hurting my wallet or my gut. I had the pork and beef tagliatelle, with the mixed greens and herb salad, a side of chard boiled (I think) with pine nuts and white raisins, a slice of orange cake and a glass of lambrusco (sparkling red wine). All was very, very good, but the chard was sublime. Friendly, prompt service. read more

Really great service their menu can be a little hard to navigate because it's very simple in how it stated but the food is amazing. I love all the pasta dishes and there's always something you new to try. read more

I had to check Yelp's cursing policy before writing this review because Holy *#$*!!!! this place is absolutely amazing. I was tempted to give a one star just because they don't take reservations and the less people that know about it the better (for me) but I couldn't do that to them. We walked over here last night and there was a 30 minute wait. It's a small place and I'm not usually one to wait 5-10 minutes let alone 30 but for whatever reason I was locked in on going here and having already made the walk, we held strong and walked to Matador while we waited. After they texted us that our table was ready, we walked back over and got seated. There are only about 15 tables in the place which creates a cozy setting. Everything on the menu looked great, but we had to narrow our choices down despite our desires to get basically everything on the menu. One thing that I loved was that all the pastas had a half size portion available which allowed for sampling of different ones. Frankly though, the half size pasta could probably be enough for a reasonable meal for many. The Antipasti's ($2 each) are an absolute must. The polpette was a unique variation on a meatball, much different from your traditional meatball but packed with flavor. I don't even know what was in it, all I know is that I was picking up the tiniest remaining pieces with my finger so as not to leave a morsel on the plate. The crostini with rabbit liver mousse was another knockout....so good that I regretted taking a sip of water afterward which took the lingering taste out of my mouth. We were so tempted to order more of this one but had so much else to try. Around this time in the dinner, I overheard one of the patrons next to us mention that this is his favorite restaurant in Portland and I could see why. His table received the Farro & Parmesan Pie which looked so good we had to order one of our own and it did not disappoint. When it came time for pastas, we opted for the Pappardelle with Rabbit and the Radiatore with Lamb and Pistachio Mint. The Radiatore was sooooo freaking good. Not a typical rendition of pasta, this thing was off the charts good. So flavorful, great meat, and a nice broth/sauce leftover that you could dip bread into. The Pappardelle was a bit similar to a wild boar ragu, but as delicious as the Radiatore. Final dish was the Baked Stuffed Trout. For $20, this was a big piece of fish, stuffed with a mix of Chermoula and Chimichurri type sauce. By now I was getting full and I'm not sure we even needed the fish but I'm not upset that we got it. Once you pull the fin out you can eat the entire fish skin-on, which gives in a nice crisp. Service was very friendly, though could be a little slow at times but overall not a problem. Prices were very fair. Food was superb. One of the best meals I have had in years. My mom agreed. It seems like all the bad reviews revolve around service or not getting seated and that checks out because the food was so good it made me feel validated for moving to Portland. All that being said, please don't come here because It will take me longer to get seated next time! read more

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Delighted by our dinner at Luce! Although the wine by the glass options are limited, I found one I enjoyed and had a great dinner. Everything was wonderful, but I was especially happy and surprised by the ricotta dumpling soup. It is awesome that they have the option to do half portions of the pasta dishes so that you can try more than one! read more

This is a cute place with 4 tables outside and about 10 inside.... my kind of place! The servers here were friendly and very attentive. We started with focaccia, olives, farro and Parmesan pie (very good but a little salty probably from the Parmesan). For entrees, we ordered stuffed trout, fettuccine with mushroom and garlic scapes. The trout and scapes were topped with large salt crystals (too much for me), but I was able to scrape them off. The mushroom sauce on the pasta was very good. The trout was beautifully done with crispy skin. The garlic scapes were delicious. The stand outs for the whole night was dessert: panna cota with pine bud syrup, Orange Cake, and miggliaccio. Miggliaccio is a cheesecake from the Naples region made with semolina and ricotta. The cake and miggliaccio were outstanding. The dessert course made the meal! I see comments about prices being high. I have to disagree...this is Portland BTW. The full size pasta may be a bit high, but the very low price on other items like starters ($3 for focaccia, $2 for pie) and $3 for cold brew coffee balanced things out. read more

Great pasta (a tad too salty half way but still great flavor), friendly service ...good wine recs by the wait person.. indoor table spacing is tight so expect to hear other people's conversations...really cute inside but maybe I will sit outside next time so other larger tables of people are not sitting next to me. I will be back soon! read more

TLDR: Excellent food but you're in for a long wait I write this review after attempting to get a table and be turned away 3 separate times. The pastas are delicious and the small bites are impeccable. At low prices and limited seating, it's understandable why Luce always has long lines and waits. Every dish on their menu (minus the desserts) have been excellent but I give the restaurant experience 4 stars because of their wait times. If they took reservations I think this whole experience could have been a lot better! read more

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Love this hidden gem! You have to come before the dinner rush otherwise you'll need to wait a while! The interior feels like you're in italy with the checkered floors and tight seating and open windows. I love that you can start off with the $2 crostinis. Our waiter actually doubled our order so that we can sample everything! They have a bunch of italian wines too so that you can feel transported. I got the clam spaghetti which was way more flavorful than the ones I make at home and the rabbit parpadelle. The rabbit tastes like chicken and the sauce was okay but I would only come back for the clam spaghetti! The buttermilk panna cotta was also out of this world. It is one of the creamiest and loveliest desserts I've ever had. read more

This is the place to go for authentic Italian food. If you're going for an evening dinner it would be about an hour wait max but it is worth it! They do a call warning so make sure your present when it's your turn!! Sarah was extremely nice and patience when seating us. The staff was very attentive and FOOD WAS TO DIE FOR! Thank you Luce for having us! :) read more

Luce - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

If you want good pasta, this is the place to go. I loved that they offer half and full size orders. This enabled us to order a few dif ones to share. We got two half size pastas at $10 each (full was just double the price), a salad (was huge enough to share), a dessert and corked a bottle of wine we brought ($17); cheap corkage if you ask me. This dinner came to a whopping $69 before tip and we left pretty full. This place is relatively quiet and is just outside of the downtown area; we didn't drive but looked like there was a lot of parking nearby. An uber from DT was about $8. Service was great but I unfortunately forgot our server's name. I would definitely come back here again and try their other pastas. read more

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Perfect meal. Began with marinated beets, eggplant polpette, crostini with rabbit liver mousse, sweet and sour peppers, and the octopus with tomato and olives. Best octopus I've eaten in my life. I'm about to leave for Portugal so we'll see how that holds up! Potatoes were beautiful. Entrees were radiatore with with lamb, saffron, and fennel seed, corzetti with walnut ricotta pesto, and baked stuffed trout. Desserts: buttermilk panna cotta with pine bud syrup (sigh....), orange olive oil cake (sigh...), and a cherry mascarpone dish I can't remember the name of (sigh...). No misses, all hits. You don't need to go all out here for a great meal either. If you're on a budget just come get a half order of pasta and share the trout and you'll be so happy. Gorgeous! read more

A favorite place to stop when visiting Portland. Been coming here for nearly 10 years and it's always delicious. Wine list is pages long which is fun when eating with a group of friends! read more

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture for this meal because it was SO INCREDIBLE. The intimate atmosphere is such an enjoyable experience. I came here with my parents and we tried about 6 things on the menu. The salted focaccia and olives were a great start. The radicchio and pear salad was light and fresh. The arugula salad was salty and peppery in the best way possible. But the octopus and potato salad was to DIE FOR. For mains- the butternut squash pasta was delightful. The lamb pasta was flavorful and warming. And the spaghetti with clams had a depth of spices and and best sauce. I highly recommend Luce for an incredible dining experience with knowledgeable waiters and a very affordable yet tasty meal! Only thing I can add is that there are no reservations and the wait can be early over an hour any day of the week. read more

This little hole in the wall Italian spot is so charming and intimate, our waiter was very knowledgeable and helpful when it came to deciding what we should order on the menu; as well as picking the perfect wine pairing with the pasta. We all got 1/2 portions and got 2 pastas each! I think that's the best way to go about it. 1/2 is not enough to be full. The tagliatelle was perfectly aldente and I enjoyed the red sauce a lot, not heavy. The linguini was a little overcooked, but the light and bright sauce with the shrimp was yummy. It was nice to eat after the heavier red sauce pasta. The focaccia is good, but I'm used to by bread being toasted/ warm. I'm also a saucy person so I definitely needed to ask for olive oil on the side to dip. The beets were good nothing special but if you like beets it's a nice little appetizer, it's only $2 for a small plate so if you're sharing add more. read more

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So delish and cute!! Will definitely be back again soon. Busy place, get there early! read more

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I came here with a friend of mine and we both got different things. The focaccia was just okay and everything else was horrible. The polpette was not good and the only way to describe it was a mushy meat cloud ball, the fennel salad was disgusting and my friend said it tasted like tires and lemon cleaning spray. Last but definitely not least, the tagliatelle with ragu was not only watery but the beef and pork in it was mushy and gross. I literally didn't even make it home before I had to pull over a pile behind a bush in a parking lot because the meal was nasty. I had food poisoning for the 2 days following. Oh and the waitress we had was very rude and when I had a few questions she answered very condescendingly and treated us like we were stupid. I would not come here. If I could give it 0/5 I would. read more

The pasta was very tasty for the price. I love that they offer half-size portions at a reasonable price. We split four half-portion pastas and a bottle of wine, I loved it. read more

I have been coming here for around 10 yrs, or whenever it was that Bon Appetit named it as one of the best Italian restaurants in America. My wife and I had one of our first dates here and we came here after we got married and many other special occasions. We have traveled the world (including Italy) and I will fight to the death based on the pure and simple let this detract from any of the other dishes, because I have never had a disappointing meal here but I cannot impart upon you enough how much I chase the experience we always have at Luce. I have relocated away from the PNW and love my new home in the Southwest. But I will tell you this my friends, so long as Luce survives in Portland and if at all reasonable, I will make my way to Luce and enjoy one of the better dining experiences that exists on this planetary experience we call earth! read more

This place is unmatched! For a town full of amazing food this ranks at the top! My husband is Italian and hard to impress when it comes to authentic quinine. The price and the homemade Italian food is amazing. It's loud and busy so sit outside if that's n issue! The hanger steak is unbelievable and the table wine is great. It's all drag and full of flavor so enjoy! You will be back I guarantee it! read more

Decided I would wait it out for a table at this small Italian restaurant on East Burnside. The host said the wait for a table would be an hourish before those on the waiting list before me were seated, and I got a table. I didn't confirm, but he was pretty close to a bull's eye on the time. I started with the warm octopus with potato and olives in olive oil. For my main course, I went with the fettuccine with lemon cream sauce. To finish, I chose a slice of the flourless chocolate cake. I thought the food was reasonably priced. Was the food and service worth an hour wait; I would say yes for sure. read more

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Atmosphere was nice. Our waiter was friendly and helpful. We ordered a few sides and salad which were all fine. Things went down hill with the pasta dishes. One friend ordered the fettuccini with wild mushrooms which had a great flavor. My other friend ordered the tagliatelle with beef and pork ragu. It was lukewarm when it came out, really watery and practically had no flavor. I ordered fusilli with pancetta and fava greens. The fusilli had either been way undercooked or cooked and sat for quite awhile. The pasta was completely cold and hard. I love al dente pasta but this was not that. There were 4 small chunks of pancetta that were completely dried out, the fava greens added nothing to the flavor, and the entire dish was incredibly dry. There was a small patch of cold, melted cheese on top. The entire dish had no flavor and was actually unpleasant to eat. read more

Came here for lunch during the holidays and got seated right away. It is definitely quaint to say the least, but still charming at the same time. Portions are a bit on the smaller side, but hey it's good portion control. You def won't over eat. The cheese board was good, served with baguettes. I would maybe suggest crackers, we ended up with more cheese than bread. The pasta was delicious, a good amount of clams, the sauce was a perfect melody of butter, garlic and peppers. We also got a half order, which I would suggest getting a full order. I do have to have to say it did take a bit for our meals to come out. But will give kudos to the waiters because they were great! read more

Luce - Spaghetti with Garlic & Hot Pepper - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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5 stars for the food. Everything was well crafted, seafood was fresh, noodle texture was perfect, great balance of flavors in all the dishes. We got the cheese/chard pasta, pappardelle ragu, shrimp linguini, and butternut squash dish. Everything was very well priced! Oh and you must get the pine bud syrup panna cotta. Star of the show!! However, the service is weird. I can't tell if it's intentional or not, but it seemed like the waiters kind of keep their heads down to purposefully ignore you. This could potentially contribute to the ambiance/experience as they want their restaurant to feel slower paced. They will make you wait for everything though, even when we got called to be seated, they made us wait outside for quite some time. Servers are kind and friendly though, just choose to ignore. read more

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The food was good, but it probably doesn't top other Italian restaurants in Portland. Unfortunately, this place lose a star for service, and price point. The young blonde man gave good service, but he wasn't my waiter. My waiter was crap. We weren't even served the comp bread that I found out about later - so I took another star off for that. I found the price to be very high for the portion. Good enough for a midday snack, not enough for a full dinner unless you order a full portion pasta ($26) and pair with a meat course ($20s) - and still have room for appetizer and dessert. The meat course is just the meat, no sides. The hangar steak is quality meat but small portion. It came medium, some slight blood in the juice...but nobody asked how we wanted it to be cooked. I thought they usually don't ask for hangar steaks bc it's more fully cooked than not. This place have so much more potential.... read more

Luce - Hangar steak and full portion pasta - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

A little Italian joint on East Burnside that I finally had the pleasure of eating at tonight. I've tried coming to this place a couple times over the summer but it's a small space with no reservations. Finally came with a party of 3 on a Tuesday and waited about 20 mins for a table. I just love how cozy the atmosphere was here! Sat outdoors in a covered area with some heat lamps and dined by candlelight. I'm not kidding, everything we ordered was a hit. - Antipasti: marinated mushrooms & polpette (meatballs) - plates: half sizes of tagliatelle, spaghetti and clams, linguini with shrimp. The pasta was so fresh and al dente. The sauce was so light, it was amazing. Refreshing to have some pasta that's not crazy heavy at a restaurant - the hangar steak: oh my god incredible. My mom thought this steak was better than SF's House of prime rib. - kale with pepper/garlic: not bitter at all. Just fantastic. Oh, and the house red was great too. Smooth and not bitter at all. I will definitely be back soon to try more off the menu. It's rare that my parents are impressed with Italian food, I had to give this place a great review read more

Luce - Hanger Steak with Garlic & Rosemary - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Lunch review: They have a lunch special where you can choose 4 antipasti plus 1/2 portion of either tagliatelle or spaghetti ($16/$21 with wine). Favorites were the farro and Parmesan pie, spiced mussels, marinated mushrooms and carrots. The polpette was a bit strange--we knew it was a kind of meatball, but unsure which meat. The chicken liver mousse was too salty. I also found the tagliatelle too salty, but otherwise, the pasta was good. The food took a long time to come out, especially considering all of the antipasti were either cold or fried. read more

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I'll start with the positives. I think the ambiance is great, loved how cute the place is. The service was pretty good, but they did forget to put in an order for steak, but stuff like that can happen and it isn't a big deal to me as long as it's fixed. Now the main event food - honestly my expectations were high from reading reviews and I was sorely disappointed. There was no balance of flavors in any of the dishes. I liked that you could order half of the pasta plates and we ordered three. The lamb and saffron, the 'nduja, and the linguini with shrimp. We also ordered the polpettes (fish / they were fine). They unfortunately were out of the focaccia so didn't get to try that. The lamb and saffron pasta was overly salty and so heavy handed on the saffron, I honestly couldn't take more than two bites and I'm a big fan of saffron so that's saying something. The 'nduja pasta was pretty good, but it would've helped if it had a little acid or heat. The linguini with shrimp was so one note, even a little lemon would've livened things up a little. Once they did bring out the flank steak, it was over cooked - they didn't ask for a doneness preference - but it was better than all of the pastas. The chocolate hazelnut cake was fine, but my cousin loved it. Overall I would categorize the experience as underwhelming. Maybe their other dishes are better, but don't think I would risk another average to below average meal. read more

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Outstanding in every way! Every bite was delicious. Pasta perfection + savory salads + A+ service = Best meal I've had all year! read more

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I did it up right by sharing takeout with two other friends - we ended up enjoying quite a feast! We got all of the antipasti (yes, the whole thing), two orders of the octopus salad, the hangar steak, half order of the rabbit ragu, several of the vegetable side dishes, and focaccia. They offer a great variety of veggie options if you're not into meat. It was awesome getting to sample a bit of everything and it was all pretty tasty. My faves were: Octopus salad (but note that it's mainly just octopus and potato - I expected some greens in it but there weren't any, so it's a good thing we also ordered arugula as that was perfect to mix in); rabbit ragu; all of the antipasti, but especially the farro pie and cauliflower balls; and the grilled leeks. The only thing I might not order again is the delicata squash - it was good but I thought this one paled in comparison to everything else. Def recommend and going in with some friends so you can try things out tapas/family style. read more

Luce - A little bit of everything. - Italian Near Me - Portland, Oregon

This restaurant is amazing! I highly recommend this business. Their food is incredible and the service was amazing. It's so cute on the inside, it's a small place! All of the pastas we tried were delicious, as well as the desserts! read more